


New Youth

by TheBrightPlaces



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Mental Institutions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-11 17:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7062958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrightPlaces/pseuds/TheBrightPlaces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New England Youth Mental Facility (New Youth, for short) specializes in the mental health of children under the age of 18. Enter: Ciel Phantomhive. A stubborn, arrogant boy who was admitted by his aunt. Ciel wants nothing more than to leave and never have to encounter the residents ever, ever again. He believes nothing is wrong with him and tries to find every possible way to get out. One of the patients by the name of Alois Trancy takes an interest in the quiet boy, and that's when it all starts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to New Youth

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is my first work on this website! :D I hope the first chapter's okay! I'm really sorry if any of the characters are too OOC. I try really hard to keep them in character, but I've never been good at it!  
>  
> 
> I don't, of course, own the characters. All rights go to Yana Toboso.

New England Youth Mental Facility, or New Youth, for short, is situated in the rolling hills of the London countryside. The rather old building was constructed in 1872 by the lead doctor, a man who simply went by the name Tanaka.

Dr. Tanaka believed youths suffering from any form of mental illness should be treated differently, rather than being lumped in with adults. He proposed the idea that children responded best with children, and needed a specialized type of monitoring, counseling, and medication.

Thus, New Youth was created. A medical ward specializing in the mental health of children anywhere from 10 to 18 years of age. The facility holds patients for as little a month, to until they max out in age. The children are admitted either through a concerned (and rich) family member, nearby hospital, or even a youth detention center. Group therapy is offered, along with: regulated meal plans, art and music therapy, specialized/personal therapy, a full medical staff, life skills, schooling, and top-of-the-line counselors, food, rooms, and equipment.

New England Youth Mental Facility is now run by P.H.D, Dr. Sebastian Michealis. It currently holds 212 troubled youngsters and has been going strong for 114 years. And today, a new patient is being admitted.

 

. . . 

 

"Hello, my name is Sebastian Michealis. Along with being the head doctor, I'm also the personal therapist that's been assigned to you. I'll begin with a quick tour, and then you'll have the pleasure of sitting in on one of our group sessions." The rather young doctor had a hint of humor in his voice, a thing he did to try to ease the transition for the newcomers. But the boy before him now was not at all impressed.

The boy was small and skinny, but had an overwhelming aura of authority and maturity about him. He had a head of black hair and only eye, which was colored a royal blue. The eyepatched lad kept his arms crossed and a look of annoyance smeared on his face.

"When is the earliest a.. _patient_..can be released?" The boy asked, irritation dripping from his every word.

Sebastian, however, was not fazed by this behavior. He'd welcomed hundreds of kids and none of them particularly liked being locked away and labeled ''mental.'' They all felt out of place and didn't believe they belonged in a place where plastic forks were regarded as weapons and a room with padded walls was down the hall and to the left.

Sebastian knew this boy felt no different than those before him. With a pleasant smile, the doctor checked his notes, looking for a name.

"Well, Ciel, you were admitted as a regular patient under the request of your aunt, so it's all up to you, really. If you make progress, attend the required therapy sessions, eat your meals, and behave, you can be out in a month."

The boy, who was named after the sky, raised an eyebrow, the hint of a smirk flashing across his face.

"Ah, so if I don't slash my, or anyone elses', wrists, I can be out by May, correct?"

The Raven haired man smiled, putting away his notes.

"That is correct, Mr. Phantomhive. Now, let's begin the tour, shall we?"

 

...

 

New Youth stood 4 stories high and in the shape of a 'U'. The bottom floor contained lounge areas, activity rooms, the cafeteria, the nurse's station and an entertainment center. The very top floor held all the offices and staff living quarters. Sandwiched in between laid the rooms where the actual patients resisded. One floor held 10-14 year olds, while the other held 15-18 year olds. Each room was accommodated with a private bathroom, two beds, two dressers, two closets, and bare walls. The idea behind the paintless rooms being for the patients to be able to be creative and really personalize their living space.

A rather open courtyard sat in the middle of the 'U', complete with a man-made pond and plenty of space and trees. Said courtyard was strategically placed so that it was visible from every room. It was filled with flowers and pretty things, with the intention being to get the patients outside and remind them of the beauty of nature and that everything seemed so small when you looked at the sky.

During the tour, Ciel kept up a look of absolute disinterest on his face. He did not want to be here right now. If only he was 18 and could make decisions by himself. He did not need to be here. There was no reason for it. His aunt was just over-reacting, as usual. This was the same woman who once rushed Ciel to the emergency room over a paper cut. Being over protective was one thing, but the woman was obsessed. She was the one who belonged here, truly.

Ciel was pretty convinced he'd be out in no time. All he had to do was be a good little boy and talk about his non-existent problems and that was that. He just had to tell the doctors what they wanted to hear and make them feel like miracle workers. If that didn't work, all he really had to do was call his Aunt, pull out the sympathy card, and bam! He'd be out by Friday. All in all, Ciel wasn't worried. He was irritated, more than anything. He found this all to be a very, very, big waste of time.

Sebastian led the boy down to the first floor as their tour concluded. The tour went as he expected. Ciel didn't say a word and kept making it a point to let out an over-exaggerated sigh every 3.5 seconds. So far, so good.

"Well, Ciel, I do hope you come to feel at home. It's now time for the group therapy session, so we'll be on our way. You're required to attend these meetings everyday." The doctor stated, glancing back that the dark headed boy.

"And if I, let's say, don't? What will happen then?" The boy asked, staring holes into the man's white-coated back.

"I thought you wanted to get out of here?" The man shot back smoothly, smirking. "I'd advise you attend them, Mr. Phantomhive."

The eyepatched lad said nothing and kept trekking down the hallway. As the two turned a corner, a blur of blonde ran past, ramming into Ciel and nearly knocking the boy over. Before Ciel could catch his balance and successfully scold said blur, the hallway was empty once more. Not a second later, a calm lady turned the corner, smiling when she saw Sebastian. The woman had long lilac colored hair and possessed a very calm, friendly disposition.

"Good afternoon, Doctor. You haven't happen to see-"

"Just ran past, actually. I think he's headed toward the art room." Sebastian answered, smiling at the woman.

The woman thanked Sebastian and off she went. Ciel looked over at Sebastian for some kind of reason as to why he was nearly knocked half way off the earth, but the man just chuckled and said, "That Trancy boy, I swear. It's never dull, that's to say the least."

 

...

 

The group meeting room was honestly trying too hard. Phrases such as: "To see the rainbow, you have to get through the rain." and "You are strong. You are worth it." littered the walls, along with bright, colorful wallpaper, giving off a serious daycare vibe. Posters of 90's celebrities, race cars, cats, and movies joined the quotes. An assortment of all sorts of chairs and bean bags formed a lazy circle smack in the middle. The whole room screamed ''THESE ARE THINGS TEENAGERS LIKE! THIS IS SO HIP!"

Ciel had to physically stop himself from falling onto the floor and convulsing.

"Each group meeting has a max of 5 people. We've found that's the perfect balance, not too big, not too small. Since you've just arrived, you'll be joining this group. It's in need of a 5th member, anyway." Sebastian explained, sorting though some papers and then dragging a chair to the center of the group. He then took a seat, telling Ciel to sit anywhere.

Now this was going to be a problem. Since Ciel had arrived first, every last kid who walks in will notice him, and that highly contradicts with his number one strategy of ''lie low.'' Nonetheless, he sat, realizing that there was nothing he could do about it. The small boy crossed his arms and brought forth his usual uninterested, bored expression. He could get through this. He just had to follow the rules and not bring in any attention. He knew exactly where his phone was. When he first arrived, Sebastian had made him put it in a box in the one of the offices. He then explained how outside distractions stunted the 'healing' process. Stunting or not, Ciel was going to get that phone, that was for sure. For now he just had to get through the day and figure out exactly which sympathy card he was going to play for his aunt.

The kids started to file in, each one of them immediately spotting the eyepatched boy before Sebastian snagged their attention and they sat down. A small boy with clips in his hair smiled at Ciel, which Ciel, of course, did not return. Next in was an older boy with stubble, followed by a red-headed kid in a dress, who would not stop staring at Sebastian.

Ciel took each one of them in, deciding to get the phone sooner than he originally planned.

After everyone got settled, Sebastian cleared his throat and looked around the circle.

"Well, has anyone seen-"

"I'm here~! No need to worry!" A sightly high pitched voice called out from the door way. Ciel turned and instantly recognized the boy as the person who had rammed into him in the hallway. The boy was tall and thin with a head of pale blonde hair.

"Ah, thank you for gracing us with your presence today, Alois. Have a seat, please." Sebastian said, something Ciel had a feeling he'd repeated at least 800 times. At the doctors request, the blonde boy skipped, yes, _skipped_ , over to a purple bean bag and sat down, a huge smile spreading across his face as he noticed Ciel. Ciel merely shot him a glare and ignored the icy blue eyes looking him over.

"Okay, now that everyone's here, let's begin." Sebastian said, smiling at the group. "As you may have noticed, as of now this group has five members. Everyone, this is Ciel Phantomhive. He joined us this morning. Would you like to say anything about yourself, Ciel?"

Ciel hated this. Every single second. No, he did not have anything to say. The small boy kept quiet and crossed his arms once more. Sebastian nodded and turned to everyone else.

"That's fine, Ciel. Now, everyone, I want you to introduce yourself to Ciel. No need to go into detail or anything." The doctor said, pointing first to the boy with stubble that looked at least 26.

"Oi. Name's Bard. I8. Nice to meet 'cha." He said, sending a salute Ciel's way. They then went clockwise.

"Hello! I'm Finnian, but you can just call me Finny! It's really nice to meet you, and I'm sure we'll be great friends Oh, I'm 16!" The boy with the clips announced, to which Ciel just nodded.

Next up was the kid in the dress. Bard coughed the word 'boy' into his arm, causing the red head to scoff. "Hiya~ I'm Grell, and I'm a _girl_ , thank you very much. Just don't steal my Bassy and we'll get along just fine." Ciel did not want to know what a 'Bassy' was, but he made a mental note not to steal it. Ciel then looked to see who was up next, groaning when his eyes fell upon the Trancy boy that wouldn't stop staring at him.

"Why, hello~ I'm Alois, but you can just call me _yours_."

The room burst into laughter, Sebastian shook his head, and Ciel contemplated if life in prison was worth bashing in this idiot's head. Alois, on the other hand, looked pretty pleased with his introduction, crossing his legs and blowing Ciel a kiss. Irritation could not describe the feeling filling the eyepatched lad's body. Neither could aggravated, annoyed, or even exasperated. Disgust was the closest he could think of. Pure and utter disgust. He really needed to get his phone. The sooner he left this place, the better.


	2. A Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh, this chapter is so horrible. It's kinda boring and doesn't flow right. I had the idea in my head and it didn't really translate right on the page. CIEL'S SO OUT OF CHARACTER, UHHHgggg. Oh well! The next chapter will be much better! Oh, and this fanfic will never have smut in it, because it makes me uncomfortable. Sorry! Later chapters will go deeper into the 'mental institution' aspect and all that, so yeah! This is just all the beginning stuff. Enjoy!
> 
> I'd like to give a huuuugggee thank you to jessyo for the comment! It really made my day! And thank you to everyone reading and leaving kudos! It all means so much to me! :D
> 
> I don't own the characters. All copyright goes to Yana Toboso.
> 
> -

Night fell over the London countryside, and everyone was fast asleep. Well, everyone expect a small boy who only had one eye. Ciel laid awake, staring at the ceiling. He had to make sure everyone was alseep, especially his annoying roommate. Finny, the cheery boy from group session, had had a Ciel shaped hole in his room, which was immediately filled.

Ciel sighed, glancing over at his bedside clock. 12:08 a.m. Finny had finally stopped talking long enough to fall asleep around 10. All Ciel was really worried about was the possibility of security guards. He wouldn't stand a chance if he got caught rummaging through drawers, psychotic looking for his phone. 

The boy slowly sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Surprisingly, he wasn't very tired. The very thought of going back home was enough to keep him up. Ciel slipped on his hospital-issued slippers and tried his best to blend in with the shadows. He made it out of the room and down the hall without any trouble. The huge building was silent and dark and looked like some kind of haunted Halloween attraction. Ciel half expected a crazed killer to round the corner, swinging a butcher's knife. The boy chuckled at his own imagination and moved forward.

He was lost. He was definitely lost. The boy had never seen so many hallways and doors in his life. It was like a huge maze, with the prize being his phone and a ticket out. Ciel thought back to the tour, and tried to remember which set of stairs he was suppose to go down and which office he had first entered. It didn't help that it was dark, with only a few night lights hanging from the ceiling every few feet. Nonetheless, Ciel pressed on, determined to find the right room, even if it took all night.

Ciel somehow managed to take the right stairway and tip toe light enough to end up on the first floor without issue. A smirk blossomed on the short boy's face as he picked up the pace. He definitely recognized where he was now. He recognized the room where group sessions were held and the cafeteria where he ate surprisingly good chicken for dinner. He took a right and headed toward the front offices, keeping his back against the wall in case someone worked around the clock, for whatever reason.

Holding his breath, Ciel snuck quietly down the long hallway as he approached the offices. His heart was beating out of his chest at the thought of getting caught. Now, Ciel Phantomhive was not usually the type of boy to break the rules. He was pleasant and quiet and always took the straight and narrow. But now was not one of those times. Now was a time to break the rules and get out of a situation in which he didn't belong. Now was a time to act.

Taking a deep breath, Ciel quickly opened the door to the front office and swung it open. Pitch black. He slipped in and closed the door softly behind him. So far, so good. Ciel then went about trying to find the light switch. He ran his hands blindly across the walls and, instead of finding the light switch, he found a hand.

Ciel nearly jumped out of his skin and, before he could scream and alert the whole building, a hand clamped over his mouth. The lights flicked on and there stood Alois Trancy, a finger over his lips. Ciel immediately slapped the blonde's hand away and backed up, glaring at the other boy. His heart beat returned to normal as he realized he wasn't going to be attacked by some killer weirdo. Just a blonde weirdo.

"I thought you'd show up, Ciel. You're a little early, though. I didn't think you'd be brave enough to sneak around until at least 2 or so." Alois said, walking over and hopping up onto the desk. He then crossed his legs Indian style, tilting his head with a knowing smile.

"What are you talking about?" Ciel shot, getting highly irritated with the blonde's smile. Here he was, so close to getting his phone and getting out! And then it all went downhill with a stupid boy and a stupid, know-it-all smile. Ciel hated it.

"You're here for your phone, correct? Wanted to go cry to mummy and daddy?" The blonde said, crossing his arms.

Ciel said nothing, just plastered on his usual bored, uninterested face. He was trying to think of ways to get rid of Alois. The boy was literally like a hyper puppy. If only Ciel had a treat or chew toy.

The blonde hopped off the desk, like he couldn't sit still for more than a second. He still had that smile on his face. A smile that suggested that he could see right through Ciel. Past the bored expression and sighs and right to the blood and bone and heart. Ciel hated that smile.

"It's what all the new ones do. But it's useless. They keep all the phones under lock and key. So, too bad~" Alois said, fiddling with all of the trinkets on the office desk with his back to Ciel.

Ciel's eye went wide and his clenched his fist. Was Alois serious?! After all this, he couldn't get his phone? He'd be stuck here for at least a month? A whole bloody month!? That was not going to work.

Since the small boy failed to speak after more than 2 seconds, Alois started up again.

"But, I might can make a deal with you, Phantomhive."

This caught Ciel's attention. A sly smirk appeared on the blonde boy's face and he turned around, revealing a phone in his hand. Ciel marched over to the other boy, trying to grab the phone. But Alois was much taller and quicker, as he was already on the other side of the room.

"Now, now, no need to get hasty. It is my phone, after all." Alois said, holding the phone high in the air. Ciel huffed and crossed his arms, quickly getting fed up with the taller boy's antics.

"How'd you get a phone, anyways?" Ciel asked, glaring at the blonde. Alois simply smiled and powered the phone on, as if to taunt the eyepatched lad.

"I have my ways." Alois said, smiling even wider. "Now, about that deal I mentioned..."

"I am not going to make a deal with you. And I'm not going to beg you, either. I'll just find another way." Ciel stated, turning to leave.

The blonde boy was quick, though, and put a hand on the door, not allowing Ciel to leave.

"Do you know how many days are in a month? 30. That's a lot of time. Just think about all the hours in a month. All the seco-"

"I. Get. It." Ciel snapped, avoiding the boy's gaze. He had to make a choice. He really did not want to make a 'deal' with this idiotic boy. There was no idea what was going on in that blonde head. But Ciel really wanted to get out. Maybe he could just see what the deal was? He didn't have to do it, after all.

As if reading his mind, the blonde smiled and flashed the phone in front of Ciel's face. ''Wanna hear about the deal, then?" He asked, causing Ciel to roll his eye.

Alois took that as a yes and bounced around like a 5 year old high on sugar. Ciel mentally cursed himself for agreeing, but he really needed that phone.

"Okay! Okay, here's the deal~" The blonde said once he'd managed to calm down for a few seconds. "In order to make a phone call, you have to spend an hour with me. So one phone call equals one hour of Alois time~" Alois said with his a flirty flare in his voice, instantly causing Ciel to want to throw up or break something.

A whole hour with a hyperactive moron? Was it really worth a phone call? Freedom? Yes, it was. Plus, if he could convince his Aunt Angela to check him out using only one phone call, he'd only have to waste one hour and then he'd never have to see Alois again. Ever.

Ciel nodded, Alois' eyes lit up, and that was that. A deal had been made. As promised, the blonde handed over his phone and then wondered back over to the desk, sitting in the chair and spinning around in circles. Ciel dialed his Aunt's number and waited. It was only around 12 and it was a Saturday. His Aunt Angela usually stayed up to at least 1 on weekends to watch her 'soaps,' as she called them.

The phone rang for several seconds before a voice came through.

"Hello~ Who's this?" A voice asked. But it wasn't his aunt, no, it was his cousin, Lizzie.

"Lizzie!? Why are you answering the phone? Where's Aunt Angela?" The eyepatched boy demanded, trying to tune out Alois, who was now singing quietly as he spun around.

"She's not here right now. Ciel, you shouldn't be calling." Lizzie said, her voice devoid of it's usual cheer, instantly tipping Ciel off that something was off.

"Did Aunt tell you to say that? Did she tell you not to talk to me?" Ciel asked, getting frustrated. His Aunt had taken this further than he had originally thought, which was not good. She seriously thought something was wrong with him, and now she even had Lizzie in on the whole thing.

Lizzie was quiet for a few beats before saying, "Ciel, you're not okay. You need to be there to get help. We're all worried about you, but we can't help you. Don't call here, okay? Iloveyoubye." With a rush of words, the girl was gone and the phone was hung up.

Ciel clutched the phone, anger bubbling up inside of him. There was nothing wrong with him! This was all seriously beginning to get really annoying. Not only had Ciel gotten nowhere on his goal to leave, he'd also wasted a phone call, resulting in an hour of "Alois" time. _Shudder_.

"No luck, huh?" Alois asked, stopping the chair from spinning and hopping up. He walked over to Ciel with a genuine look of curiosity on his pale face. Ciel merely shoved the phone over to Alois and let out a long sigh. The blonde shrugged and put the phone in his pocket. It was strangely quiet for a few minutes as Ciel stewed and Alois watched him closely.

"Can we just get this hour over with? I'd like to go to sleep." Ciel snapped, shooting the blonde a look. Alois smiled and shook his head.

"Nope. Everyday you have what they call "free hour." You can basically roam around and do whatever. Once you've been here a while, you can even take passes that let you go out into the city. Anyway, meet me tomorrow during free hour. I'll be waiting in the game room. I'm a master at Mario Kart, and you're so going down." The blonde said, bouncing up and down on the heels of his feet, his eyes shining.

Ciel narrowed his eyes, not expecting Alois to just want to play video games with him. He'd expect the deal to involve deep dark secrets being spilled or something of that nature. But no, the boy just wanted to spend time with him. It made Ciel sick. The things he'd do to go home.

"If I come, I get another phone call, right?" Ciel asked, going toward the door and trying to stifle a yawn.

"Yep! One hour, one phone call~!" The blonde said, smiling as happily as ever.

Ciel didn't know what to make of the Trancy boy. They hadn't even really spoken until tonight. Sure, Alois had run into him and said weird things to him during group, but they'd never really interacted. Why did Alois want to spend an hour with him? It just didn't make any sense to Ciel. Surely Alois had some sort of motive behind the whole thing. Maybe it'd be revealed later. Ciel was too tired to think about it anyone, that was for sure.

He left without saying anything more, sneaking all the way up to his room. Finny was still fast asleep, thank God. Ciel slipped off his shoes and laid down with a long sigh. At least he'd get to try again tomorrow. Maybe he could convince Lizzie to see reason. To see that he was just fine. That he was the same person who played house with her when they were 5. Lizzie was gullible, and there was no telling what his Aunt Angela had told her. Oh well, he could at least call and try. And then Ciel remembered his hour of 'Alois time' awaiting him tomorrow, in which he proceeded to bury himself under the blankets and wished he'd never have to come out.


	3. Room 202

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this and leaving kudos! It means so much! :D
> 
> Sorry this chapter's so short!
> 
> As usual, the characters are not mine. All copyright goes to Yana Toboso.

Every resident of New Youth Medical Facility was expected to be up, washed, and down for breakfast by 7:30 a.m. This was not going to work for a certain Ciel Phantomhive, whose idea of waking up early was rolling out of bed at noon. The young boy was dragged out of bed at an ungodly hour and managed to take a shower without slipping and connecting his face with the tile.

Ciel walked down the the breakfast room with Finny, the other boy was all smiles and wouldn't stop talking about how good the breakfast cinnamon rolls were. Ciel, on the other hand, wasn't even awake yet. His damp hair was a mess and he couldn't keep his eye open to save his life. He somehow made it to the cafeteria and grabbed a plate of pancakes, which he proceeded to drown in sugary syrup. The small boy then choose a table in the corner by himself, just the way he liked it.

Finny made a beeline to the center table, sitting with Bard and Grell. Other kids Ciel had never seen before started to file in, all yawning and stumbling into tables. As Ciel took small bites of his pancakes, he noticed something was missing. Alois. The blonde was nowhere to be seen, and a hospital worker had already stepped in and made sure everyone was where they should be. Ciel dismissed it, choosing not to think much about the hyeractive idiot. He'd already have to spend an hour with him later. He didn't want to think about him anymore than he had to. A cart was then rolled in and everyone lined up, getting their respective morning medication. Ciel ignored said cart, since nothing was wrong with him.

After breakfast Ciel had an art session, in which he sat and did nothing. Kids around him went to town sketching out their 'inner demons.' The eyepatched boy just put his head down and slept for the whole hour. After art Ciel was scheduled for his first ever therapy session, or as his scheduled called it, a 'Talk.' Ciel sighed as he made his way up to Dr. Sebastian's office, ready for his every word to somehow have three thousand hidden meanings. The boy just thought about having another chance to use Alois' phone and having another chance to get out and go home.

"Ah, good morning, Ciel. Please, have a seat." Sebastian said as Ciel entered, motioning one of two seats in front of his desk. The man's office had a strange amount of cat nick nacks, including a kitten paper weight, pens, posters and a calendar. Ciel gave the doctor a strange look, which he returned with a chuckle.

"So, how was your first morning here?" Sebastian asked, getting out his clipboard.

Ciel sighed and leaned back, knowing this was going to be a long hour.

"Grand." He answered, crossing his arms. "Just _grand_."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Well, that's good to hear. Are you making any friends?"

"Friends? Am I suppose to be making friends here? I thought I was here to get to the bottom of my outstanding mental problems." Ciel shot back with a fair amount of sarcasm in his voice.

The doctor chuckled and shook his head. "Well, that is correct, Ciel. But I'd like you to be as comfortable as possible, and friends can help make that happen."

Ciel rolled his eye. He was not here to make friends. He didn't even want to be here in the first place! Didn't these people realize that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him? He wasn't having fits or talking to inanimate objects. He was just fine. The last place he belong was a _mental_ facility! If these doctors thought there was something wrong, /they/ were the ones with the mental problem. Honestly.

"So," Sebastian continued, scribbling something onto his clipboard. "You live with your Aunt Angela, correct? Anyone else?"

"No."

"You don't have anyone around your age to interact with?"

Ciel sighed, already feeling a headache coming on. "My cousin Lizzie basically lives with us. She stays enough to have her own room. She's a year older than me."

Sebastian smiled. "Are you two close?"

"Well, she's my cousin. We grew up together." Ciel answered, not seeing the point of these questions. Where was this even going?

Sebastian nodded and paused, glancing up at Ciel. The room was quiet, aside for the tick tick tock of the cat clock on the wall. 50 minutes to go.

"You two grew up together? Did she spend a lot of time with you and your... _parents_?"

Oh. So that's where this was going. Of course.

Ciel shrugged, a mask of disinterest on his face. He really didn't want to talk about his parents.

"Speaking of your parents, maybe you can help me paint a picture of what they were like. What was your father's name?"

Silence.

"What about your mother?"

Silence.

"Where did they work?"

Silence.

A sigh.

"Well, Ciel, I see we're getting nowhere. You're going to have to talk about them eventually, I hope you know that. It's a part of the whole 'do what you're suppose to and you'll get out in a month' thing. But, we'll wait until you're ready, okay? There's no pressure at all. You can open up when you're absolutely ready." Sebastian said kindly with a smile.

The rest of the session went about the same. Sebastian asked Ciel about school and his favorite classes, about what he liked to eat and if he had any hobbies. Just general stuff to get to know him. The eyepatched boy mostly gave one word answers, if he answered at all. He mostly shrugged or sighed or a combination of both. After the hour finally ended, Ciel had a to take a class that went over a variety of school topics to give the patients some type of formal education. Today Ciel had English, which he immediately tested out of and just read a book the rest of the period. English and Reading were the boy's best subjects. He was a great student and always got A's. Ciel found school to be a bore more than anything.

Lunch then rolled around, meds were delivered, food was eaten and then it was time for the ever dreaded Free Hour. Ciel reminded himself that it was only an _hour_. Just one hour with Alois and then he'd get to call home once again. He'd been constructing what to say all day, and he was pretty sure he had a convincing argument for Lizzie. If Lizzie was the one who answered. Whoever answered, Ciel was going to convince them that he was just fine and needed to go home. That he really did not belong here.

Ciel entered the entertainment room, having made sure to take his sweet time getting there. But, to his surprise, Alois wasn't even there yet. The room was empty aside from Bard and Finny playing video games on the couch. Ciel walked on in and took a seat a table that was set up for checkers. The boy actually smiled at the thought of not having to see the idiotic blonde boy. Maybe Alois forgot or got in trouble for running around the halls like a possessed child. Either one was just fine with Ciel.

As Ciel absent mindedly stacked checkers, he looked over at the two boys on the couch, and realized that they had a reason to be here. Even his ever-annoying roommate, Finny. Something made them come here. If Ciel passed Finny, Bard, Grell, or even Alois, on the street, he'd never even imagine that they'd spent time in a mental institution. For all Ciel knew, Alois could be a raging schizophrenic and Finny could majorly depressed. It was crazy how a person could look so normal and have so much going on in their head.

Ciel was so deep in thought that he didn't see Bard get up and plop down in the chair across from him.

''Heya, kid. How's it going?" Bard asked, his voice so deep it could easily belong to a 40 year old man.

Ciel glanced up and gave a unenthusiastic shrug, to which Bard nodded.

"I understand how ya feel. It's tough the first few days. It's better if you got some mates to talk to, ya know?" The older boy said, looking back over at Finny, who was looking through a stack of video games.

Ciel concentrated on his checker tower. He did not want 'mates.' He wasn't going to be here much longer, so what did it matter? He'd be packing by tomorrow morning for sure. He didn't care if Alois showed up or not, he was getting that phone call if he had to hunt the boy down.

After Ciel did nothing but sigh, Bard continued.

"But, there's some people you probably don't wanna get so friendly with." He said, gaining Ciel's interest. The eyepatched lad raised an eyebrow, and Bard leaned in, as if afraid his words would be overheard.

''Like that Trancy lad. He's been here longer than anyone. He's mental. You know where he is right now, yeah? He's in 202 because he had a fit or something this morning. You don't want to be around him." Bard said, leaning back in the chair and stretching. "You can hang around Finny and I, if ya like. Just hang in there, mate."

With that, Bard got up and joined Finny on the couch for a new game.

Ciel's mind was racing. Alois? In _Room 202_? Room 202 was the room he saw on his tour, the room with the padded walls and 5 locks on the door. What did Alois do to end up in there? From what Ciel had seen, Alois seemed smiley and energetic. Not violent and aggressive.

But, more importantly, how was Ciel suppose to get that phone call now?


End file.
